Susan Knox Wilson
The United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps is the uniformed service branch of the United States Public Health Service and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States—along with the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard, Air Force, Space Force, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Commissioned Officer Corps. The commissioned corps’ primary mission is protecting, promoting, and advancing the health and safety of the nation.
Along with the NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps, the Public Health Service Commissioned Corps is one of two uniformed services that consist only of commissioned officers and has no enlisted or warrant officer ranks. Officers of the commissioned corps are classified as noncombatants, unless directed to serve as part of the military by the president or detailed to a service branch of the military.
Members of the commissioned corps wear uniforms modeled after the United States Navy and the United States Coast Guard, with special Public Health Service Commissioned Corps insignia, and hold naval ranks equivalent to officers of the Navy and Coast Guard, along with corresponding in-service medical titles.
As with its parent division, the Public Health Service, the commissioned corps is under the direction of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. The commissioned corps is led by the surgeon general, who holds the rank of vice admiral.
The Public Health Service Commissioned Corps had its beginnings with the creation of the Marine Hospital Fund in 1798, which later was reorganized in 1871 as the Marine Hospital Service. The Marine Hospital Service was charged with the care and maintenance of merchant sailors, but as the country grew, so did the ever-expanding mission of the service. The Marine Hospital Service soon began taking on new roles that included initiatives that protected the commerce and health of America.